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Bob Barr still supports war on drugs

Mr. Barr said he still opposes…the legalization or decriminalization of drugs, just as he did as a federal prosecutor during the Reagan administration and as a Republican in the U.S. House.

Bob Barr is a neocon Republican using the Libertarian Party for financial gain. He is no libertarian by any stretch of the imagination. I pity the fools that fall for this shyster’s dog and pony show, especially those that send him their contact info and money.

3 Responses

Paulie, instead of taking a second hand quote from notoriously error prone reporters who misquote people all the time to fit their needs (something you know a lot about). Let’s look at to see what Bob Barr has actually said:

“I, over the years, have taken a very strong stand on drug issues, but in light of the tremendous growth of government power since 9/11, it has forced me and other conservatives to go back and take a renewed look at how big and powerful we want the government to be in people’s lives,” Barr said.

Barr brings a “great deal of credibility, particularly among people on the Republican side of the aisle,” MPP government relations director Aaron Houston told The Politico. “He certainly would not have been the first person I would have expected to sign off to us, but I’m very pleased that he has,” Houston said. “I’m very pleased that he has come around, and I hope he serves as an example to his former colleagues.”

As a newly christened MPP lobbyist, Barr is already talking the talk. There might be “legitimate medical uses of marijuana and we ought not have this knee-jerk reaction against it, and people ought to be allowed to explore,” he said.
Source stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/479/bob_barr_joins_mpp

“Bob Barr lobbied for us on medical marijuana on the Hill last year, particularly on repealing his own amendment and Hinchey-Rohrabacher,” said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Prior to losing his seat in Georgia, he was a civil libertarian with some notable exceptions, the drug war being the major one, but that has changed. When people come over from the dark side, they should be welcomed,” he added.
Source stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/531/libertarian_party_drugs_2008

“Regarding the drug war, I’ve been there, done that, and know firsthand our current strategy is not working. Continuing to have the federal government run roughshod over the states, even if the citizens of a state decide they wish to legalize medicinal marijuana, for example, is wrong. ”
Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barr

It’s very rare to find someone who’s willing to change their position and then be so public about it. [Barr has] definitely increased the credibility of the Marijuana Policy Project. People have to take us seriously when we walk through the door with Bob Barr. -Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project, May 2008
Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barr

“I do not think that the American people are ready to embrace the notion that there ought to be across-the board legalization of drugs. But I do think we need to begin rolling back the massive government power structure that has been built up pursuant to the war on drugs, which has not proved to be a success, certainly. Therefore, I think we need to certainly respect states rights and decisions by the people in an area such as medicinal marijuana. If the people of California, for example, decide that there is an appropriate place for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and they pass a law to that affect, that ought to be respected by the federal government. In other words, I think we can start this process of vesting the power to decide what people want to do with their own lives as long as they don’t endanger anyone else by at least beginning to devolve power from the federal government to the states. That would be an important first step. ”
Source http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_567921.html

Old news. I asked Steve Gordon about this and he showed me the original statement, and claimed Barr was misquoted. In fact, if the sole basis for the reporter’s characterization was that statement from Barr, he was in fact misquoted. The comment is from some time ago.

Many more detailed questions about Barr’s current stance on drug policy issues remain to be answered.